Hugo TT 2 by Chord Electronics - The Official Thread

[No KNOTsense]

See my extensive posts above (last year) about it. I worked directly with Chord UK on it. They said it was not possible, that the system architecture simply cannot allow for channel imbalance, but were of course friendly and continued working with me. After two replacement PSUs (which meant two trips to my local dealer and extra customs fees on the direct PSU from the UK), the issue continued. I performed extensive tests including trying it in a different place to exclude the possibility it was something at my home (I never had such issues with any other gear). One thing to try to see if it's the same issue I had, is to verify that this happens only when in amp mode (i.e., when in DAC mode, the external amp never shows channel imbalance). Well, despite assurances that this cannot be, Chord customer support is helpful and willing to help customers enough that they finally changed my whole board. The unit has been working flawlessly since October or November when I got it back.

Interesting to see I was NOT an isolated case. Report it to Ed at Chord. He will help and he will also probably realize that this is a possible issue with the unit's architecture or whatever the term is. Even Rob I believe said that this cannot happen. Well it does, and it is annoying AF to have your 5k unit play right ear only as you wait 30 minutes for the other channel to possibly, maybe start to equalize volume.

I read your previous posts on the subject. Unlike your case, my TT2 is about 20 months old and only developed this issue within the last few weeks. It is as though the headphone jack is sometimes not properly engaged when a headphone is plugged in. Plugging it in slowly seems to work more consistently than doing so quickly. I'm glad you mentioned high and low impedance headphones behaving differently: it explains why my HD800S has much less of an issue than my Meze Elite. I have several additional PSUs in storage I will try out after work to see if they make any difference.

 

[jarnopp]

I read your previous posts on the subject. Unlike your case, my TT2 is about 20 months old and only developed this issue within the last few weeks. It is as though the headphone jack is sometimes not properly engaged when a headphone is plugged in. Plugging it in slowly seems to work more consistently than doing so quickly. I'm glad you mentioned high and low impedance headphones behaving differently: it explains why my HD800S has much less of an issue than my Meze Elite. I have several additional PSUs in storage I will try out after work to see if they make any difference.

The obvious question is, does it do this with all HP jacks or only a particular one, since there are 3?

 

[Nostoi]

Letting my TT2 go here, if anyone is on the search.

 

[elisiX]

After much deliberation, I sold my RME/V281 combo and picked up the TT2.

First impressions at home with my Utopia are that this sounds better from a DAC perspective (detail, space and reverb), and I want to say it also seems more ‘together’ or cohesive compared to the RME/V281 combo I’ve been running the past 1.5 years.

Despite some of the issues some seem to report, as an all in one package in my study, I’m impressed so far.

 

[Slim1970]

Letting my TT2 go here, if anyone is on the search.

Oh wow, what are you planning to move on too?

 

[Nostoi]

Oh wow, what are you planning to move on too?

Well, basically Hugo 2 with a few amps paired for different tonalities. To be perfectly honest, the Hugo 2 and WA8 pairing is getting more or less all my attention right now. And in some respects, I actually prefer the tonality of the Hugo 2 to the TT2. Obviously, the Hugo 2 isn't as refined and arguably it's more fatiguing, but I prefer the slightly cooler timbre paired with a warmer amp (the TT2 and WA8 combo didn't work for me). My plan now is to pair the Hugo 2 with a very transparent and resolving SS amp alongside the WA8, so I can use it as both a desktop system and trans-portable.

We'll see. TT2 is peerless, obviously - hopefully I won't regret this pathway....

 

[Slim1970]

Well, basically Hugo 2 with a few amps paired for different tonalities. To be perfectly honest, the Hugo 2 and WA8 pairing is getting more or less all my attention right now. And in some respects, I actually prefer the tonality of the Hugo 2 to the TT2. Obviously, the Hugo 2 isn't as refined and arguably it's more fatiguing, but I prefer the slightly cooler timbre paired with a warmer amp (the TT2 and WA8 combo didn't work for me). My plan now is to pair the Hugo 2 with a very transparent and resolving SS amp alongside the WA8, so I can use it as both a desktop system and trans-portable.

We'll see. TT2 is peerless, obviously - hopefully I won't regret this pathway....

I totally get what you’re saying. I had the TT2 and Hugo 2 at the same time. In some instances the Hugo 2’s “brighter” tonality worked better with warmer sounding gear. I can see it being a great match with the WA8.

 

[Nostoi]

I totally get what you’re saying. I had the TT2 and Hugo 2 at the same time. In some instances the Hugo 2’s “brighter” tonality worked better with warmer sounding gear. I can see it being a great match with the WA8.

Absolutely. I've spent the last week or so comparing them and I generally lean toward the Hugo 2. Certainly for the ZMF VC, there's no doubt - at least to me - the Hugo 2 has much better synergy with Hugo 2 because it offsets the VC's thick mids.

I also find the Hugo 2 lends itself to being tweaked more - i.e., alongside the WA8, the Hugo 2 and C9 pairing is also magical, and offers a wide range of flavours. TT2, on the other hand, does one thing and it does it exceptionally well.

 

[CaptainFantastic]

Absolutely. I've spent the last week or so comparing them and I generally lean toward the Hugo 2. Certainly for the ZMF VC, there's no doubt - at least to me - the Hugo 2 has much better synergy with Hugo 2 because it offsets the VC's thick mids.

I also find the Hugo 2 lends itself to being tweaked more - i.e., alongside the WA8, the Hugo 2 and C9 pairing is also magical, and offers a wide range of flavours. TT2, on the other hand, does one thing and it does it exceptionally well.

It's crazy that I just posted my TT2 for sale a couple of days ago (no worries, not in competition here for buyers, mine has a higher price because of the warranty) and I said in the listing that I am planning to downscale to the H2.

 

[Nostoi]

It's crazy that I just posted my TT2 for sale a couple of days ago (no worries, not in competition here for buyers, mine has a higher price because of the warranty) and I said in the listing that I am planning to downscale to the H2.

Woah - just seen your ad. Could this be a trend? That is striking. Are you planning on using your Hugo 2 on its own or with an amp?

Indeed - yours has the warranty, which will no doubt be attractive to buyers. Just remains for me to say: GLWS!

 

[CaptainFantastic]

Woah - just seen your ad. Could this be a trend? That is striking. Are you planning on using your Hugo 2 on its own or with an amp?

Indeed - yours has the warranty, which will no doubt be attractive to buyers. Just remains for me to say: GLWS!

GLWS for you as well. Yes, I am planning to pair the H2 with my Bottlehead tube amps or use it on its own.

But I don't know, I kind of don't want to sell the TT2. It's just current events making me feel like I need to downscale and be reasonable. Another part of me wants to keep the TT2. So I will probably never lower the price or bump the ad and get to keep it.

 

[Nostoi]

GLWS for you as well. Yes, I am planning to pair the H2 with my Bottlehead tube amps or use it on its own.

But I don't know, I kind of don't want to sell the TT2. It's just current events making me feel like I need to downscale and be reasonable. Another part of me wants to keep the TT2. So I will probably never lower the price or bump the ad and get to keep it.

I'm also ambivalent about the sale myself. I love having Hugo 2 and Hugo TT2 - they're both very complementary to one another in terms of usage and tonality (and the fact my son is also called Hugo only reinforces my attachment...).

When you say current events, you mean global events? I think I get what you're saying; it does sort of obligate one to look at what's really needed, and hopefully to focus on the music rather than the gear (every audiophile's dream, right?)

 

[No KNOTsense]

The obvious question is, does it do this with all HP jacks or only a particular one, since there are 3?

All three headphone jacks are effected although the rear XLRs are not.

 

[elisiX]

Well, basically Hugo 2 with a few amps paired for different tonalities. To be perfectly honest, the Hugo 2 and WA8 pairing is getting more or less all my attention right now. And in some respects, I actually prefer the tonality of the Hugo 2 to the TT2. Obviously, the Hugo 2 isn't as refined and arguably it's more fatiguing, but I prefer the slightly cooler timbre paired with a warmer amp (the TT2 and WA8 combo didn't work for me). My plan now is to pair the Hugo 2 with a very transparent and resolving SS amp alongside the WA8, so I can use it as both a desktop system and trans-portable.

We'll see. TT2 is peerless, obviously - hopefully I won't regret this pathway....

Hugo 2 is the only other DAC/AMP I’ve kept with TT2, so I’ll be sure to make some comparisons head to head and add them here when I have the time.

Ultimately I’m keeping it for a transportable setup, but the need for that is limited (I don’t travel anymore for work and I WFH a lot), so I may end up moving it on.

 

[Slim1970]

Hugo 2 is the only other DAC/AMP I’ve kept with TT2, so I’ll be sure to make some comparisons head to head and add them here when I have the time.

Ultimately I’m keeping it for a transportable setup, but the need for that is limited (I don’t travel anymore for work and I WFH a lot), so I may end up moving it on.

Your reasoning is why I let my Hugo 2 go. It wasn’t getting a lot of usage and I wasn’t traveling as much as I thought I would.